Hogwarts after the War
by Dakota Cheyenne
Summary: A view of Hogwarts through the eyes of Vivi O'Donaghue and other students entering the school in Fall 1998, several months after the end of the Second Wizarding War.
1. Vivi

Vivi

Hey guys! Welcome to Hogwarts after the War. Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters; they are the property of J.K. Rowling. All characters not originally in the Harry Potter universe (whether in the book or in supplementary material) are owned by me. This is the first and last time I'm putting in this disclaimer. Without further ado, here is _Vivi_, the first chapter of Hogwarts after the War.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Between the lilies and the roses. This is Vivi's favorite place at her house, or rather, her grandmother's greenhouse. Ironically, her grandmother Elizabeth would kill her if she knew she was in her garden, but Elizabeth would kill her for breathing if possible, so why stop.

Vivi flips over on her stomach and pulls her scrapbook towards her. Its pages are filled with dozens of pictures of Princess Diana. Beautiful, slender and graceful, in Vivi's eyes, she was the perfect woman. Vivi, however, is short and stout with limp dark-blonde hair, a wide nose, and an overbite which made her look like a human mouse. The only thing beautiful about her is her emerald eyes, passed down to her from her mother Rose and her grandmother. If only she could be-

Vivi yelps as she is jerked to her feet by the collar of her blue dress. A pale hand grips into a shoulder and yanks her around, bringing her face-to-face with Elizabeth.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my garden?"

"I'm sorry, Grandmother, it won't happen-"

"Lies, lies, lies. All you do is lie" sneers Elizabeth as she snatches up Vivi's scrapbook, "Looking at this again? I wish you would do more productive things instead of living in your fantasies."

She shoves the book into Vivi, knocking her to the ground. "Now get out."

Biting her lips, Vivi storms towards the exit. A _bang!, _however, makes her turns around. Vivi's eyes widen as she watches the lighthouse bulbs burst one by one, until only darkness remained. Her hearts start to race as she looks at Elizabeth's wild eyes.

Vivi felt the slap before Elizabeth's hand connected to her face. She barely registers falling in the soft, moist soil. Somewhere, Vivi hears Elizabeth yell "How dare you use magic in this house?", but she doesn't register it. Instead, her mind goes to last year. Oh that last year. On the outskirts of Ottery St Catchpole, the oldest son of the Weasley family was getting married when The Burrow was attacked. The assailants spilled over into the city, killing citizens indiscriminately. Her grandfather, John O'Donaghue, was one of their victims. Now, there was no love lost between Vivi and her grandfather, but his death crushed Elizabeth and changed her relationship with Vivi for the worst. Her slight obsession with magic became pure hatred; unlike most of the people of the village, Elizabeth knew that the attackers were wizards.

A growl breaks Vivi from her trance. She is filled with horror as she looks up at her mother. Her eyes wide and teeth bared, Rose lunges at her mother, slamming Elizabeth to the ground. Elizabeth looked so small under her daughter. Grabbing her by the neck with one hand, Rose uses the other to continuously slap Elizabeth in the face.

"Rosie." Tears slide down Elizabeth's face, "Please."

Vivi couldn't stand when her mother was like this, even if it was against Elizabeth; it reminded her too much of John. "Mummy, stop!" she yells as she grabs Rose's arm, "Let's go try on one of your dresses."

Rose swings around and wraps her tanned and muscular arms around her daughter. "Vivi!" she cries as she rubs their cheeks together, "I won't let my nasty mother do anything to you again."

Vivi knew this was an empty promise; Elizabeth will just wait until Rose was preoccupied to get back at Vivi. She took comfort in it anyway because it will be a while until that happened. Still, Vivi couldn't help but look at the crumpled form on the ground. To be attacked by the only person you love in this world...Vivi turns away.

(Hogwarts after the War)

"Vivi, you're so pretty!"

Vivi gives a strained smile as she holds her arms and twirls around in a yellow dress with large puffed sleeves and pink ribbons peppered everywhere- the type of dress made for special occasions that sacrifices comfort for style. Rose couldn't do much of anything, but one thing she excelled at was making dresses, in spite of her mental disability.

John and Elizabeth had Rose later in life, and she was born premature, both leading factors in her condition. The doctors said that although Rose will eventually be able to take care of herself, she could never support herself. Her parents didn't mind at all; Rose was the most precious thing in their lives, and for sixteen years the three of them lived peacefully. Then Vivi was conceived.

No one knew what really happened, or how she got so far away from her parents. All anyone knew was that Rose was found in the field where the villagers had been carving pumpkins. Her dress was pulled over her head and her underwear was ripped to shreds. Rose's screams haunted Ottery St Catchpole for months. Vivi was born July 1st the next year. During the time between, Rose went good-naturally naïve to unpredictably violent. Well, also unpredictably. God so help the person who lays a finger on Vivi.

A rap on the door catches Vivi's and Rose's attention. "Rosie?"

"Come in, Mummy" says Rose, their earlier altercation completely forgotten, "Look at Vivi."

Elizabeth pays no attention to Vivi as she comes in. Both Elizabeth and Rose are taller than the average woman, but Elizabeth is pale and slender with curly dark hair, whereas Rose is tan and muscular with long, dark-blonde hair. Vivi looks a lot like her mother, but not in the ways that count. She would give anything to be tall.

"Rosie, you have to take your dresses to Rhodes before the shop closes."

Rose throws herself on her bed and covers her head. "I'm tired. I want to take a nap."

As Rose starts snoring, Elizabeth turns towards Vivi and raises an eyebrow. Without a word, Vivi heads downstairs.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Vivi groans as the wagon with the dresses hits a rock. 'Don't let the carriage bounce too much.' 'Don't touch the dresses, you'll mess them up.' 'If you give me less than 100 pounds, I will slap you across the face. I know how much those dresses cost.' If she didn't trust her, why have her take the dresses at all? Vivi sighs and starts humming "Eleanor Rigby".

As Vivi trudges down Ottery's streets with the heavy wagon behind her, she sees the two Weasley women heading the other way. You can always tell a Weasley by their red hair, although she only knew a few of their names. Jennifer Weasley- that must be what Ginny is short for- holds up her mother as Mrs. Weasley fiddles with a bouquet of white roses tied with a black ribbon, the remembrance bouquet. Her downturned face makes Vivi look away.

A couple of months ago, her son Fred died. Or was it George? The twins stick out in Vivi's memory because they would pull pranks on the oblivious villagers. Elizabeth would laugh because she knew what was going on, until she became their target. Then, she would either swear her head off when she thought she was alone, or yell at Vivi for not doing anything about it. What was she supposed to do? Vivi could barely control her magic. But she doesn't have to do anything anymore; with his partner-in-crime gone, Fred or George will probably never pull another prank again. Vivi is happy for that, but she wish it didn't come about because one of the twins died.

Vivi nearly passes her destination watching the Weasleys. Rhodes is a charity store run by Andrew Rhodes, a firefighter. The first floor is lined up with an assortment of clothing leading from the front door to the front desk. There are stairs across from the door that lead to the second floor, which is filled to the brim with various thingamajigs and whatchamacallits. Heading to the front desk, she hears Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Lovegood, a strange man, gushing over their daughter.

"Aw, my Audrey" starts Mr. Rhodes as he strokes his strawberry-blond beard, "She's going to graduate top of her class next year from Cambridge. She wants to be a doctor, and I couldn't be more proud. Many, Phil, she's the only good thing that came out of my marriage."

"Oh, I doubt that" responds Mr. Lovegood as he watches Mr. Rhodes bag his things, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten married. Nevertheless, I wish Audrey luck on her life after graduation."

"The same with Luna and hers…oh, hey Vivi."

Vivi waves as she pushes the wagon against the desk. "Hi Mr. Rhodes. Hi Mr. Lovegood."

"Hey, Vivi" responds Mr. Lovegood as he takes his bag, "Are you bringing in those cute dresses? I wish Luna was young again so I could get her one."

With a wave to Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Lovegood leaves the shop. Mr. Rhodes then lifts out the dresses, counting them as he puts them on hangers. "And there're ten. Here's 100 pounds."

Vivi holds out her hand, in which Mr. Rhodes places two 50-pound bills in her hand. "Oh, and here's five pounds for the road" he says as he puts a five-pound bill in her pocket.

"Thank you, Mr. Rhodes!" says Vivi. Mr. Rhodes always gave her five pounds anytime she deliveries the dresses herself. Elizabeth only worries about the profits from the dress; she doesn't ask about anything extra.

"No problem" he responds as she walks out of the door, "Say Hello to your mum and grandmother for me."

(Hogwarts after the War)

Vivi puts the wagon in the shed and goes to the sitting room, money in hand. When she entered the room, however, the hair on the back stands up. Usually, Elizabeth is standing by the door waiting to pounce, whether Vivi had the money out or not. Instead, she sits with a letter in her hands. When she finishes, Elizabeth looks at Vivi with a smirk on her face.

"Looks like you'll be gone for a while. 'We are pleased to accept Viviane Faye O'Donaghue into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'"

(Hogwarts after the War)

This is the end of _Vivi_, the first chapter of Hogwarts after the War. This chapter is a lot of setting up, but don't worry. Next chapter, we're off to the Hogwarts Express. See you then!


	2. Magical Mystery Tour

Magical Mystery Tour

Vivi had never seen Elizabeth so happy in her life. She flitted from store to store in Diagon Alley, buying for Vivi the most expensive cauldrons, scales, and phials she could find. Vivi could ask Elizabeth for anything and get it. Except for a cat. Vivi wanted this green-eyed Siamese that she saw at the pet store, but Elizabeth wouldn't let Vivi have her. Still, with the possibility of getting rid of Vivi, Elizabeth was willing to spend any expense.

As excited as Elizabeth was, Vivi was not. Other than the bankers at Gringotts (which could have just been dwarves in masks), Diagon Alley looks like a normal, albeit eccentric street. Vivi tried to get more excited about it, but she didn't want to get her hopes up for an elaborate prank. Her visit to Ollivander's, however, changed her mind about this place.

There were boxes all over the store; half of them were on shelves and the other half were near the door, on the stairs, and surrounding the desk. The desk itself had a large hole in it, the hole itself surrounded by burn marks. There were also burn marks on the shelves and around the windows. Vivi was so busy wondering what happened in the store that she was startled by the shaking of the boxes. "Oh, don't be frightened, child" said a voice behind the desk.

A head with white hair and spectacles popped up. "What's your name, Miss?"

"Viviane O'Donaghue, Sir. I'm looking for a wand."

"Well, you've come to the right place, Miss O'Donaghue." Ollivander shuffled around his desk, opening and closing boxes as he went. "Sorry for the mess. Haven't gotten to clean it up since my kidnapping, but you needn't worry about it. Here, try this one."

He passed her a black, ruler-size stick. "Now, see if you can levitate one of these boxes."

Vivi tentatively pointed to a box, sending it flying into a wall. She yelped and threw it down.

"Not quite right" said Ollivander as he looked for another wand.

"Did I do that?"

"Yes, Dearie. Now, try this one instead." He passed Vivi a reddish-brown wand a bit longer than a pencil. A warm feeling encompassed her, like a blanket on a winter's day. Around her, three boxes hovered before floating to the ground.

"Bloody hell"

"Looks like you've found your wand, Miss O'Donaghue," Ollivander said as he grabbed the wand from her, "Let's see…mahogany, eighth and a half inches, dragon heartstring. A fine wand indeed."

"Dragon heartstring?"

"Oh, Miss, if you react like this to everything, you'll be here all day." Ollivander and Vivi exchanged the money and the wand. "Have a great day, Miss O'Donaghue, and have a great year at Hogwarts."

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander." With her wand in hand, Vivi was finished shopping. Meeting back up with Elizabeth and Rose, they began to leave Diagon Alley. On their way, Vivi saw a building with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes across the top. The shutters on all of the windows were closed.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Vivi has been to King's Cross several times, whether it was boarding the train to sell her mother's dresses, her grandmother's ointments and medicines, or her grandfather's carpentry. She has never seen a Platform 9 ¾ before, and she doesn't think that she'll have much luck today as she, Elizabeth, and Rose come to King's Cross. She would have bet the 180 pounds she saved in a hollowed book that Elizabeth would have left her there to fend for herself. Elizabeth, however, is just as eager to find the platform as Vivi is. If there is no platform, then Vivi will have to come back with her.

"Maybe we should ask someone where it is?" suggests Vivi as she drags her trunk behind her.

"Are you daft?" exclaims Elizabeth as she drags Rose, "The only thing you'll accomplish is showing how much of a silly cow you are!"

Says the woman looking for an imaginary platform, thinks Vivi. She glances around for some sort of 'magical' sign, when something catches her eye.

The sandy-brown head of a boy about her age flies past. Vivi would have paid him no mind, but he is saying, no singing something.

"'The magical mystery tour is dying to take you away,/Dying to take you away, take you away."

Oh God, thinks Vivi, he's a Beatles' fan. Her eyes goes to the trunk that's he's struggling with, concluding that the boy must be heading to Hogwarts as well. Vivi goes to ask him directions as he leans on the column between Platforms 9 and 10. Before she can get there however, the boy's brown eyes widen behind his glasses as he tumbles through the column with his trunk.

"Bejesus!" says Elizabeth as she runs to touch the now solid column, "That boy just disappeared."

"It's magical" says Rose while Vivi checks the other side to make sure the boy didn't come out there, "Just like my Vivi."

"Doesn't look like us Normals can get through." Elizabeth drags Vivi to the front of the pillar. "Go in, and see if you can find the platform, then come back and tell us about it."

Vivi gulps as she puts her hands on the column, her heart racing as they sink into it. Closing her eyes, she pushes through column. She couldn't believe what she saw, rushing back out to Elizabeth and Rose.

"Chuffin'ell!"

"Vivi!" exclaims Elizabeth, "Watch your language."

"It's crowded with people in there, and there's this large train, and I'm not sure how that got there. Do you think it came through…?"

Elizabeth shoves Vivi's trunk towards her. "Well, it seems as though you'll get to Hogwarts on that train. I guess this is goodbye."

Vivi looks at her grandmother and nods. "Goodbye, Grandmother." She then turns to her mother, and a lump develops in her throat. This will be the last time Vivi will see her for a while. Vivi wraps her arms around Rose and squeezes her tight.

"Goodbye, Mummy."

When Vivi pulls back, Rose's eyes are filled with confusion and sorrow. Vivi dashes through the column, but not before hearing the bloodcurdling scream of "Vivi!"

(Hogwarts after the War)

Vivi wipes the tears away as she walks down the corridor of the Hogwarts Express. The hard part is over; what's next?

Near the end of the hall, she sees some familiar faces. Mr. Lovegood's daughter Luna is talking to Jennifer Weasley while a brown-haired girl around their age and two younger girls, a blonde and one with dark skin, listen on before the five of them enter one of the compartments. Vivi goes towards the compartment, but she decides to find a less crowded place. Unfortunately, she isn't having that much luck.

"If you're looking for a seat, there's one in the second cabinet to the right-no, your left, my right."

Vivi turns and sees a blond guy with a child-like face. "Thank you"

"No problem" he says as he holds out his hand and she shakes it, "A first year, eh? Well, Dennis Creevey welcomes you to Hogwarts. I hope you have a great first year."

Vivi nods her head, partially to hide her blush, before going the other way. "Vivi O'Donaghue thanks you for the welcome." With that, Vivi enters the compartment.

"…so, I can trace back my Greengrass ancestors sixteen generations…" the girl stops when Vivi comes in. With her curly, dark brown hair and fair skin, she looks like a younger version of Elizabeth with violet eyes. Along with her are two boys: one who appears to be of Indian descent, and the other who could have been Vivi as a boy, except that her hair is darker, and his eyes are hazel. The former speaks up first.

"Thank God" he says as Vivi sits next to him, "I never thought Astoria would shut up."

"Hey you" responds Astoria, "A pedigree like mine should be shared."

"Whether they care to hear it or not."

The other boy jumps in to dispel the argument. "So, as you can see, that's Astoria Greengrass. What's your name?"

"I'm Viviane O'Donaghue, but you can call me Vivi. Are you Irish?"

"Yep. My name is Joseph Ryan, but everyone calls me Joe."

"Cool. I could tell by your-"

"Joseph Ryan?" says Astoria, "You're the son of Barry Ryan, the Keeper of the Irish National Quidditch team."

"Yeah, Barry Ryan's my pa" he says as he starts twiddling with his collar. He then turns to Vivi. "With your last name, are you Irish too?"

"No, but my grandfather was a pureblooded Irishman."

"Oh" says Astoria, "Your grandfather was a pureblood?"

"Irishman," states Joe, "Not wizard."

"I'm the only with magic in my family" says Vivi.

"Oh, you're a…muggle-born. Mm."

What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean? Vivi is becoming annoyed with this girl. Luckily, the other boy speaks up.

"Pay her no mind. I'm Quincy Quirrell, but I go by Quinn."

"My sister Daphne's first Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was named Quirrell."

"He was my father."

"I'm sorry about that. And your mother, too."

A pained expression runs across Quinn's face. "Given what they were doing, it would have happened sooner or later." And that is all he would say on the matter.

There are so many things that Vivi wants to ask them about, like what is Defense Against the Dark Arts or what's a muggle-born, but she decides to do it later. Instead, she wonders about where Dennis Creevey or the sandy-haired boy is sitting right now.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Vivi is speechless.

Between the self-propelled boats, the large castle that apparent no non-wizard can see, and the enchanted candles, she could have stepped into a fairytale. The hairy man standing nearly ten feet would have freaked her out if he wasn't so nice. Luckily, she had Joe and Quinn there to tell her not to worry, even if it is a bit overwhelming. She is going to need them as the first-years enter the Great Hall.

The Great Hall…Vivi has to stop herself from fainting. Along with four tables full of students and more floating candles, a ceiling that looked like the night sky, and…ghosts! Dozens of them just hanging around there. Chuffin'ell. Okay, Vivi, she thinks, get ahold of yourself. This is your life now.

Vivi looks ahead at the Great Table, where a dark-haired woman with glasses stands up and addresses the hall.

"Greetings to all. I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I would like to first introduce some of our new professors. Arabella Figg, professor of Muggle Studies, Dedalus Diggle, professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Eileen Snape, professor of Transfiguration."

A loud gasp emits from the hall at the mention of the last name. McGonagall lets the students get it out before continuing. "Professors Slughorn, Flitwick, and Sprout will remain the heads of Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Professor Sprout is also the new Deputy Headmistress. The new Head of Gryffindor will be our gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor, Rubeus Hagrid."

The Gryffindor students erupt into applause while the hairy man Vivi saw before stands up. Afterwards, McGonagall continues her speech. "Now, before we start with the Sorting Ceremony, I want to say one last thing. This year, although we were finally able to defeat Voldemort, we did it at a heavy price. Many of our love ones died, including many of your fellow students. As we work to insure that nothing like this ever happens again, we will continue to honor all that were lost in both Wizarding Wars. On the first floor, there is a section of the wall which every minute shows a picture of a different person whom we lost. If you put your hand near the picture, it will change into the person you're thinking about. It will be officially opened tomorrow. Now, we honor the past by celebrating the future. On with the Sorting Ceremony."

Vivi was so mesmerized by the Wizarding Wars that she yelps when the Sorting Hat starts to talk. Joe gives her shoulders a reassuring squeeze while other first-year students look at her queerly and laugh. McGonagall then begins calling names in alphabetical order. Watching the hat sort students into the different houses was interesting…for the first twelve students. Then, Vivi pretty much decided to look at the scenery until something or someone interesting appeared. The latter happened.

"Cecil Cunningham!"

The sandy-haired boy from before goes up and sits on the stool. He is much lankier than Vivi remembered. After a few witty remarks, the Sorting Hat sorts him into Gryffindor, which gets a cheer from everyone in the Great Hall except for the Slytherin table. This strikes Vivi as odd, so she gauges the reactions to other sorting. When someone was sorted into a non-Slytherin house, say Gabrielle Delacour, who was sorted into Gryffindor, everyone but Slytherin will cheer whether it's their house or not. If someone is sorted into Slytherin, however, the Great Hall would go completely silent except for the cheering of the Slytherin table, as shown when Astoria is sorted into Slytherin. What does the rest of the school have against Slytherin?

"Viviane O'Donaghue!"

Vivi scurries up the steps and plops down on the stool. When McGonagall places the hat on her head, it begins talking immediately; it is the strangest feeling Vivi has ever felt. "I see a great drive in you. In spite of your fear, you have the desire to be greater than who you are and where you come from. I sort you into…Slytherin!"

Vivi feels numb as she walks to the Slytherin table. The Slytherins shout congratulations and pat her on the back. The anxiety and outright indignation on the other students' faces makes Vivi's heart sink. Especially since the same thing does not happen to Joe or Quinn, who are sorted into Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw respectively. Vivi was wrong before; the hard part has just begun.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Hey guys! I'm sorry that there is no intro, I forgot. I do not only Harry Potter or the song "Magical Mystery Tour". They are the properties of J.K. Rowling and the Beatles respectively. So, what will happen to Vivi in the next chapter? Tune in to find out!


	3. To Be A Slytherin

To Be a Slytherin

Hello, folks. Welcome to the third chapter of **Hogwarts after the War**. What will happen on Vivi's first day at Hogwarts? Continue reading and find out.

(Hogwarts after the War)

"Come on, guys, right this way."

Vivi fiddles with her robes as the Slytherins follow a black-haired teen and go deeper into the dungeons. Down here, there is a chill that reaches into her bones and gargoyles that seem alive. Vivi wishes that either Joe or Quinn were with her; the only person she knows in Slytherin is Astoria, but she didn't see herself hanging out with her at all. Vivi jerks around, her heart pounding as she feels a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry" says the owner of the hand. She is a muscular girl with a head full of curly red hair. "I didn't mean to frighten you. Actually, I was trying to tell you not to be afraid, the opposite of what I did. You're a first year, right?"

Vivi nods her head. "I'm Viviane O'Donaghue, but everyone calls me Vivi."

"Nice to meet you, Vivi. I'm Leah Townshend, fourth year.

Vivi shakes Leah's hand, feeling less afraid. Her fear completely disappears once she enters the Slytherin Common Room. She finds the golden room more beautiful than the Great Hall, especially with the view of the Black Lake in every window. Vivi wonders how the creatures in the lake viewed them here. "I wish I was a mermaid."

"Not these mermaids" says Leah behind her, "They're viscous. You'll see before you leave here."

Vivi's eyes widen before she turns her attention to a voice near the center of the room.

"Gather around. First years in the front, everyone else can sit wherever." The black-haired boy who led them here waits until everyone's settled in before starting again.

"On behalf of the Slytherin house I welcome all of the first years to Hogwarts. My name is Pete Harrington, the Head Boy of the student population-"

"Only because of a peace offering" someone shouts in the background.

Ignoring him, Pete continues. "Now, many of may have heard rumors about Slytherins. That we're so evil that the Devil himself won't let us is Hell. That we're crooks and thieves and pirates. That we bathe in the blood of virgins and roast newborn babies for supper. Well, none of those things are true. Except for Luke Moretta, watch for that guy."

The room bursts into laugher while a muscular boy with blond hair shrugs nearby. Pete chuckles along before his blue eyes become serious. "They say that many Slytherins are either Death Eaters, become Death Eaters, have family members that are Death Eaters, or were sympathetic to the Dark Lord's cause. All of these things are true. Many of our parents followed the Dark Lord until the bitter end, ending up either imprisoned or dead."

With the last word, Pete looks up and gulps. Luke walks over and squeezes his shoulder, which gives him the strength to continue. "We've lost so this year, not counting deaths. Me and my sister Sidney are now responsible for our eleven younger siblings. Five of them are here with me, and Sid had to leave school to take care of the other six."

"Poor Sid" Vivi hears Leah say behind her. Pete starts again.

"Because of the stories about us, most of the other students will shun us. That's okay; Slytherins stick together. As soon as the Sorting Hat sorts you into Slytherin house, we're family. If any of you, especially the first-years, need help with anything, you can come to any of us. Well, that went on longer than I wished. Girls' dorms are on the right, boys' on the left. Good night, and once again, Welcome or welcome back to Hogwarts."

Some of the older kids clap and go over to Pete as Vivi follows the other underclassmen to the dorms, soon finding her own. A smile breaks across her face as she sees the five canopy beds with thick, dark green curtains. Running to the bed with her trunk at the foot of it, she falls through its curtains onto the plush mattress. My own bed, Vivi thinks, I don't have to share one with Mum. As she squeezes the pillow to her chest, the room door opens. Vivi jumps out and goes towards it.

Two girls enter the room. They are identical with long, black hair and dark eyes. Both of them have cold looks in their eyes, especially when Vivi comes. This doesn't deter her in the slightest.

"Hi, I'm Vivi O'Donaghue" she says as she holds out her hand.

"India Chong" the right one says without taking Vivi's hand.

"Diana Chong" says the left one, also not taking Vivi's hand.

"Diana? Like Princess Diana?" exclaims Vivi.

"What of it?" responds Diana. Before Vivi can say anything else, the Chong twins head towards their beds.

"Jeez" huffs Vivi before the door opens again. She can barely suppress a groan as Astoria comes through the door. "Hello, Astoria" Vivi says with false sweetness.

"Oh, you're here?" says Astoria as she passes Vivi and goes to the twins, "Please tell me you two are pureblood."

"Our mother's a muggle," states one of the twins.

"We know nothing of our father," says the other.

Astoria groans as she falls into her bed. "The Slytherin has gone downhill since my sister went here. Since when did we start letting in witches of Muggle descent?"

"Both Voldemort and Snape were of Muggle descent. You really need to freshen up on your history."

Vivi turns towards the door. A brown-skinned girl with dark braids comes through and closes it. Vivi looks at her quizzically until she realizes who this girl is: she was with Jennifer Weasley earlier.

"Mal Prewitt" she says as she gives her hand to Vivi.

"Vivi O'Donaghue" Vivi responds, remembering that the girl's first name is Mafalda from the sorting, "You rode with Jennifer Weasley on the train."

"Who's Jennifer?"

"The red-headed girl? Everyone calls her Ginny, but I don't know her that well so I call her by her first name."

Mal stares at her before breaking out into laughter. "Her first name is 'Ginevra', and no one calls her that. Ginny is fine."

"Humph" says Astoria, "Who cares about that blood traitor anyway?"

Mal rolls his eyes. "No love for muggle-born me, then?" Then, she turns her attention towards Vivi. "But you really don't have to worry about Ginny or any of the other Weasleys; now is the time for the Prewitts. Sure, it took a couple of generations because my grandfather wasn't born with magic and hers was, but I'll more than make up for that."

"Okay" drawls Vivi, wondering why Mal is so hung up on the Weasleys.

"Anyway, I know everything, so if you need help with anything, just ask me."

"Will do."

With that, Mal goes to her bed. Vivi doesn't know what the next day will hold, but she's excited either way.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Heading towards her first class, Vivi's heart flutters as she sees Dennis Creevey. She runs towards him. "Hi, Dennis" she says shyly.

Dennis looks at her uncomfortably. "Hi, Vivi" he says.

"Hogwarts is amazing! I can't wait to go to my first class."

"Yeah" says Dennis sadly, "The school is amazing. If only you weren't a Slytherin."

Vivi's heart stops as Dennis silently walks away. Not Dennis, the kind boy who helped me on the train. Trying not to cry, Vivi heads to her destination.

Vivi's first class is Transfiguration. As she approaches the door, she sees a statue to its left. As Vivi inspects it closer, it appears to be a statue of a Ravenclaw boy. His mouth is wide and he has an angry glare on his face.

"Chuffin'ell" exclaims Vivi, "He looks so real."

Mal comes besides her and whistles. "Wonder what this bloke did to end up like this?"

Vivi chuckles and walks into the class.

Professor Snape leans on her desk as the first-year Slytherins file in, her arms folded and a smirk on her face. She is a severe-looking woman, with pale skin and cold, black eyes. As Vivi sits down, a shiver runs up her spine as Professor Snape starts to speak.

"Hello, students. Welcome to Transfiguration class. Before we start, I want to make something clear. Now, all of you are first-years so you don't know about my son, but apparently, there's no love for Sevy among most of the upperclassmen. Many of these upperclassmen are very vocal about this point, and it has gotten to where I'm getting annoyed. So, unless you want to end up like Rupert Radcliffe out there, I would keep you opinions about the original Professor Snape to yourself. Now, turn to page seven."

Vivi flips the pages without question. Try not to piss off Professor Snape if you value your life, she thinks.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Transfiguration class was pretty cool. Vivi stared in awe as Professor Snape turned sheets of parchment into cooing birds and blocks of wood into barking dogs and purring cats. She herself was proud of the three birds and cat head she created. Vivi's next class is Defense Against the Dark Arts, and she heads that way.

"This isn't fair!"

On the other side of the corridor stands Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, the brown-haired girl from the train, and a half-dozen other students. Facing them is Pete, Luke, and a handful of other Slytherin students. Between them is a picture of a man and woman who look a lot like Pete. His parents, Vivi thinks.

"Me mourning my parents is not fair?" asks Pete.

"Them being in the memorial is not fair!" shouts Ginny as she shakes off the brown-haired girl's hold, "They're Death Eaters."

"So he can't feel bad about their deaths?" says Luke.

"Cry as much as you want" says a Gryffindor boy holding several vines of ayahuasca, "but we shouldn't have to commiserate them. My mother was killed for marrying my father; now my father doesn't want my sister to come to Hogwarts next year because he's fear for her safety. I mean, what's next? A life-size statue of Voldemort?"

"Henry, I'm sorry about you mother. Losing a mother is excruciating, and many people on both sides of the war lost loved ones."

"So what?" exclaims Ginny. "Do you want to know what's excruciating? Watching your parents bury their son. Seeing a woman squeezing her grandson because her husband, daughter, and son-in-law were murdered by Death Eaters. If your parents were still alive, would they mourn them? Would they mourn the people they slaughtered under Voldemort? No. Lining up your dead along with ours is a slap in our faces, and there's no way they should be in this memorial."

Vivi doesn't realize that she's made it to Defense Against the Dark Arts class until she's right at the door. She didn't know that much about the Wizarding Wars, but she feels bad about Pete's parents, especially after seeing so much pain on his face.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Defense Against the Dark Arts is pretty cool. Professor Diggle spent most of the class talking about the heroics of everyone in the Second Wizarding War, especially Harry Potter, who after several years of fighting Voldemort defeated him with a simple disarming spell. Mal got all into the stories, but Astoria looked down casted. Vivi couldn't get into the stories herself after seeing the argument outside, but it was cool seeing some of the defensive spells. Soon enough, DADA was over, and they head towards Potions class.

The Gryffindors are already there when the Slytherins arrive. Vivi skims through them all before finding the person she wants: the boy from the train. He is standing a ways off from a group of boys surrounding Gabrielle Delacour, muttering under his breath and peering at his wand. His wand, in turn, responds by emitting a white light each time he commands it. Vivi goes up to him and holds out her hand.

"Hello. Cecil, isn't it?"

His head jerks up as he nearly drops his wand; Vivi notices that his face is peppered with orange freckles. Cecil smiles and grabs Vivi's hand. "Call me C.C. And you're Viviane O'Donaghue, right?"

"Just Vivi. I saw you when you were heading for the train. You fell through the pillar."

"Yeah." C.C. runs his fingers through his hair as his face turns red. "Didn't mean to do that. I guess it was lucky though; I mix up my numbers a lot, so I would still be at King's Cross if I didn't stumble through that pillar."

"Lucky for me too. I would have been with you if I didn't see you fall through."

C.C. and Vivi chuckle at this. Vivi starts to bring up the Beatles song he was singing when another Gryffindor boy comes and grabs C.C. by the shoulders, glaring at her.

"C.C., don't talk to her" he says with a weird accent. American, perhaps? "She's an interloper from the false house who'll stab you in the back any chance she gets."

C.C. gives her a sad look before following his friend into the classroom. Vivi bites her lips; she was hoping to strike up a friendship with C.C., but it looks like that won't be the case. Sighing, she goes into the classroom.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Potions class was amazing. Although Vivi grew up in the Muggle world, making potions is similar to making medicines and other remedies. Both her great-great-grandmother and great-grandmother were apothecaries, and even though her grandmother wasn't, she has a large plot of medicinal herbs in her garden and knew their old recipes. Vivi would sneak and watch Elizabeth make aspirins and balms late nights in the kitchen. Vivi memorized the recipes herself, and now with Mal, who exceeds in all of the classes, they exceled at Potions. The only thing that brought down the mood was that C.C. made no contact with her at all, even though his cauldron with his friend Jacob Phillips wasn't far from theirs. Well, at least she won't have to see him for the rest of the day.

While walking to Herbology class, she sees a familiar face. "Quinn!"

He turns around and waits until Vivi catches up, a slight smile on his face. "Eh up, Vivi! How do you do?"

"Swell. How about you?"

"Good. The classes are really easy."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far, but the classes are not as hard as I thought they would be. I really liked Potions and I'm excited about Herbology. I know about 200 different plants, their purposes, and where they're from."

"Wow" says Quinn as he nods his head, "I'm gobsmacked. I know a lot about different cultures around the world, but not that much about their plants unless they're main exports."

A grunt to her right makes Vivi look at Mal before turning back to Quinn. "Oh, Quinn this is Mal. Mal, Quinn."

Mal and Quinn shake hands. "Ravenclaw, eh? So you're heading for Herbology too."

"Yep."

"You are?" asks Vivi, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you knew," answers Quinn, "Ravenclaws and Slytherins have Herbology together."

"Yes!" shouts Vivi, leaping and throwing her fist in the air, quickly pulling it down when people around her start to stare. Now she has a class with Quinn; if only she could have a class with Joe. "Herbology is going to be awesome. Hopefully, the three of us can work together."

Suddenly, a group of Ravenclaws walk past them, laughing and shoving them. "Snake babies! Interlopers!"

"Snake babies? What are those?" Vivi laughs, before going serious. "That boy Jacob called me an interloper before too. What does that mean?"

"Snake babies are young followers of Lord Voldemort, which is ridiculous," states Mal, "I'm a muggle-born, so Voldemort would have no love for me."

"As for interloper" starts Quinn, "Many of the students came up with the idea that, due to the history of the Slytherin house, that only the non-Slytherin houses should be considered Hogwarts. Therefore, Slytherin house is the false house and its students are the interlopers. It's stupid. There are many evil wizards from the other houses."

Vivi heart sinks as she watches the group. Is this how it's going to be every day?"

(Hogwarts after the War)

Vivi skips as she leaves Herbology class, Mal and Quinn on each side of her. Herbology was amazing. There were a lot of magical plants that she had never seen before, and she couldn't wait to learn more about them. Although he doesn't have a particular interest in plants, Quinn got the hang of Herbology quickly. Mal unfortunately had to partner with Astoria, but no real damage was done. Vivi only has one more class to go to, which is Charms. She and Mal are going to walk with Quinn until he has to leave and go to Potions.

"Quinn! Vivi!"

Vivi turns around before Joe wraps his arms around both her and Quinn's shoulders. She quickly sees the glares of Hufflepuffs behind her back. "What's up with them?" she asks.

Joe looks. "I don't know. They were nice a minute ago. I should ask them later, shouldn't I?" He looks at Mal and holds out his hand. "I'm Joe Ryan. What's your name?"

"Joe Ryan?" Mal asks, "As in Barry Ryan's son?"

"The very same."

"Oh my god. I'm Mal Prewitt, and I'm a huge fan of your father. I must admit though, my heart belongs to Oliver Wood."

Joe releases Vivi and Quinn and runs to Mal. "That's so awesome. Oliver Wood is my favorite Quidditch player ever."

Joe and Mal walk together and talk about Oliver Wood. "I still have no idea what Quidditch is" states Vivi.

As Mal and Joe start to tell her every minute detail, Quinn puts his hand on Joe's shoulder. "We have to get to Potions."

"Hopeful it'll go better than Defense Against the Dark Arts" moans Joe, "It was dreadful."

"I want to do better in Defense Against the Dark Arts too" says Vivi, before snapping her fingers, "I've got an idea. How about the four of us get together on Saturday and study together?"

"That's a great idea!" exclaims Joe.

"I don't really need any help, but I guess I'll come" says Mal.

"I can help out, and it'll be fun" says Quinn.

"Cool" says Vivi as she and Mal wave goodbye, "See you Saturday."

"You too" says Joe as he and Quinn go to Potions.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Vivi walks out of Charms class, bowing her head and biting her lips. Charms class was difficult. No matter how many times she saw the demonstrations, she couldn't get the wand motions or the spell phrasing right. All she wants to do now is go to dinner and forget all about it.

"Worthless Snake baby"

Vivi sees a tall Hufflepuff boy yelling at Astoria. Astoria's hand is pressed against the memorial picture, which shows a scowling, stout boy wearing the Slytherin uniform. The Hufflepuff boy sneers at her. "What? Was Crabbe your boyfriend or something?"

"I don't have to explain anything to you" says Astoria in a gurgled voice.

"Humph, Blood purists. You're probably so inbred that you'll marry your own sister."

Before Vivi can gasp, Astoria's hand comes across the guy's face. He responds by grabbing her by the shoulders and repeatedly slamming her into the wall. Astoria's cries sound so much like Elizabeth's when John used to strike her that it made Vivi's blood boil.

It is as though Vivi's body is on autopilot. She launches herself at the boy. Before he can register what is going on, she wails on him. Each punch Vivi gives him she dedicates to each person she wanted to punch today: Dennis Creevey, Ginny Weasley, Henry, C.C., Jacob Philips, the Ravenclaws who called her "interloper" and "Snake baby", the Hufflepuffs who glared at her, and this guy. Unfortunately, he will have to take all of Vivi's punches. She doesn't stop until someone rips her off of him.

"Miss O'Donaghue!" shouts Professor Sprout, "What is the meaning of this?"

"That boy attacked Astoria!"

"Only because she slapped me!"

"You made fun of my family!"

"Silence" says Professor Sprout. "Mr. Cauldwell, I will not accept an upperclassman attacking first-years, especially upperclassmen from my house. Twenty points from Hufflepuff. I can't, however, ignore your parts in this, girls. Five points from Slytherin for Miss Greengrass' attacks and ten points from Slytherin for Miss O'Donaghue's attack. All three of you will have detention tonight."

Cauldwell storms off as Vivi and Astoria go the other way. Astoria places her hand on Vivi's shoulders. "Why did you help me?"

"Because no one should be attack for their birth, and no one should beat up someone smaller than them."

(Hogwarts after the War)

Vivi and Astoria head out of the Transfiguration classroom. Many of the carvings and origami had gone haywire, and Vivi and Astoria had to catch them while Owen Cauldwell disenchanted them. Unfortunately, Cauldwell pretended to do what he was supposed to do, meaning that Vivi and Astoria ran after the same animals over and over again. When Professor Snape discovered this, she asked him if he wanted her to make a statue for him. It would look just like him; just ask ol' Rup Radcliffe. Their detention finished quickly after that. Vivi and Astoria walked quietly to their common room before Astoria clears her throat.

"Thank you for helping me earlier."

"No problem."

"I…sorry about how I've been treating you."

Vivi stares at her, making Astoria look down. "Don't stare. I just never had any non-pureblood friends before. Or any pureblood friends for that matter."

Vivi puts her hand on Astoria's shoulder. "Come with me to the library on Saturday. Joe and Quinn and Mal will be there. I know it may be awkward at first, but if two Slytherins, a Ravenclaw, and a Hufflepuff can become friends, then one more Slytherin won't hurt."

Astoria nods her head, a smile coming across her face. "Okay, but only if you call me Tori. It's what my family calls me."

"Okay, Tori" says Vivi before she stops. "Go on to the common room. I'll be there in a minute."

As Tori leaves, Vivi heads towards to memorial picture and puts her hand on it. Her heart starts pounding as John O'Donaghue appears on the wall. "Chuffin'ell" she whispers.

"Your grandfather, isn't it?"

Vivi swerves towards the voice. Headmistress McGonagall stands next to her, the hat that usually covers her dark hair gone. Even with her soothing voice, her appearance sends a chill up Vivi's spine.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall, but my grandfather was a Muggle. Why-"

"Most of the wizards at Hogwarts are of Muggle descent, myself included. Because of this, the memorial also honors all Muggles lost during Voldemort's reign."

This makes Vivi smile, even though she never really liked her grandfather. It shows that Hogwarts really cares about all of their students. "Thank you, Professor McGonagall."

"You're welcome, Viviane. Now, run off to your dorm."

Vivi nods before she runs to the Slytherin dorms.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Wow, this was a long chapter! Thank you for reading my story, please review, and stay tune for future chapters.


	4. Quidditch Tryouts

Quidditch Tryouts

Hello guys! Welcome to the fourth chapter of Hogwarts after the War. Thank you to everyone who has read the story, especially with so many original characters. All other characters are owned by J.K. Rowling. Now, without further ado, here is _Quidditch Tryouts_!

(Hogwarts after the War)

A Saturday morning study session with five eleven-year olds turned into conversations about Muggle pop culture, British royalty, and Quidditch. Lots of Quidditch, courtesy of Mal and Joe. Thanks to those two, Vivi knew everything about Quidditch, from the positions to the rules to the teams in the professional league to the best players.

"Come on" whines Tori as she lays her head on the table, "Quidditch is tit boring."

"Oh, and are witch houses more to your fancy?" sneers Mal. It had taken a while, but Vivi was able to convince Mal, Joe, and Quinn to let Tori join them. Quinn mostly ignores her while Joe is quite amicable with her as long as they didn't broach the subject of his Muggle mother. Mal, however, isn't so willing to let go, so an argument broke out between those two every five minutes.

"Yes" responds Tori, "Why do you want to listen to stories about smelly blokes and birds instead of ones about the sophisticated lord and ladies of the pureblood witch houses."

"You just want to tell us how you're descended from all of them."

"Well, my great-grandmother is from the Goyle clan…"

"So, Joe, are you excited about Quidditch tryouts?" asks Vivi.

"Absolutely! I just hope I don't get into the team because of my Papa."

Mal huffs as she folds her arms. "The Hufflepuffs are going to be in trouble when I'm the Slytherin seeker. You're still coming to watch me Vivi, aren't you?"

"Of course" says Vivi.

"Ooh, you have to come see me too!" says Joe.

"How about we all go?" suggests Vivi.

"Spending all day watching Quidditch?" says Tori, "What a bore. No thanks."

"We really can't watch each other's tryouts" says Joe, "That would be cheating."

"So that just leaves me and Quinn. Right, Quinn?"

Quinn, the only one of them to actually study, has barely said anything at all. Now he barely responds to Vivi, instead looking straight ahead. A few tables away from them, Hermione Granger sits with Luna Lovegood and Henry Abernathy. They are, respectively, reading a book, writing on parchment, and transferring the effects of poison ivy on a toad.

Professor Diggle had told them all about the exploits of Harry Potter, up to and including his defeat of Lord Voldemort. Although many people helped him along the way, his two constant companions were Hermione Granger and Ginny's older brother Ronald Weasley. About seven years ago, Quinn's father died, and somehow Harry Potter was involved; Quinn, therefore, is not comfortable around his friends.

"I'll pass" he says as he picks up his books. "Joe, Mal, best of British on the tryouts. Let's hang out afterwards."

With that, he leaves the library.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Vivi heads out to the Quidditch field. Hufflepuff's tryouts are right before Slytherin's, so Vivi will be in the field until the evening. For the former's Vivi will have to hide somewhere; a Hufflepuff will not respond kindly to a member of a competing house viewing their tryouts, especially not a Slytherin. She looks up in the sky to see if Hufflepuff tryouts have begun.

"Chuffin'ell."

Streaks of red shoot across the sky, a Quaffle between them. The center blur throws it to the right to another blur. The right blur stops, revealing itself to be a blonde haired girl in a red robe.

"Gryffindors!" hisses Vivi. She came too early, coming on the back end of the Gryffindor tryouts. There is no way any of them will react to her with kindness. As quick as she could, she dives behind a tree, deciding to stay there until Hufflepuff tryouts. Then, she'll watch from here until the Slytherins come out.

"Vivi?"

Vivi jumps and bumps into the tree, her heart pounding. She sighs, however, when she sees C.C. staring at her. "Cecil."

"For goodness sake, Vivi, call me C.C. You sound like my grandmother: 'Cecil, sit up straight. Cecil, pay attention. Cecil, why can't you be more attentive like your brother?'"

Vivi laughs at his accurate Scottish brogue. C.C. can be really nice if he's not surrounded by other Gryffindors. He had not talked to her once since their introduction earlier this week. "All right, C.C. it is."

This makes C.C. smile. "So what are you doing at Gryffindor's Quidditch tryouts? I would've never taken you for a spy."

"I'm not a spy! My friend Joe wanted to me to watch his practice. I came too early and ended up here."

"Oh really?" C.C. folds his arms. "Hufflepuff practice is next, and the Slytherins don't come out til later."

"Joe is a Hufflepuff. What, shocked that a Slytherin can have a Hufflepuff friend?"

C.C. looks down, his cheeks flushed. "I-that was half-sharp. I mean, I was half-sharp. I'm sorry."

"Okay." Vivi looks up at the Quidditch players. The girl she saw before now plays as keeper, her blocking abilities below average. "It doesn't look like you're trying out for the team. So why not and what are you doing here?"

C.C. laughs. "I'm so cack-handed that I couldn't imagine trying to catch balls while flying at the same time. No, I'm here to support my mate Jake. Now don't make that face. I know there's no love between you two, but he's pretty cool."

Vivi rolls her eyes. Jake Phillips is a nasty piece of work: arrogant, judgmental, vain, and cruel at times. No one does anything about though, because either they're entranced by his American accent or apathetic because most of his victims are Slytherins. Looking at the players, she sees Jake frantically reaching for the Snitch. He grabs for it, losing his balance and plummeting twenty feet to the ground.

"Jake!" C.C. looks like at Vivi with wild eyes. "I've gotta go."

Vivi watches as he runs towards were Jake has fallen. The two beaters and Ginny Weasley join him. After speaking for a while, the two beaters carry Jake towards the castle, C.C. on their heels.

"Better luck next year" says Ginny as the keeper flies down next to her, revealing herself to be Gabrielle Delacour.

Her beautiful face is marred by a swollen eye and a broken nose. Strands of her hair stick out all around her head. The corner of Ginny's mouth rises.

"I never thought I would say this, but you look like Hell. It's a shame, too, because I'm afraid that you didn't make the team."

"What?" exclaims Gabrielle, "but I did not even get to try out for seeker!"

"You didn't try out for beater either" scoffs Ginny, "Keen as mustard for another ball to the face?"

Before Gabrielle can respond, Ginny leaves to congratulate the new members of the Gryffindor team. Tears welled up in Gabrielle's eyes as she runs into the castle. Vivi goes after her in spite of herself. When she finally makes it to the castle, Gabrielle is leaning one of the walls, her hands covering her face.

"Hey" Vivi states, "Don't cry. I thought you were good."

"I knew it" Gabrielle says as she looks at Vivi, tears streaming down her face, "She is jealous; that is why Ginny will not let me on the team. She is mad because I enrolled in Hogwarts instead of Beauxbatons, and because Harry is so nice to me!"

Vivi has a bit of trouble keeping up with what Gabrielle was saying, not helped by her thick, French accent. She knew through Mal that Ginny Weasley was Harry Potter's girlfriend, and that Ginny and Gabrielle are sister-in-laws through the marriage of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. Vivi also knew that Harry saved Gabrielle during his fourth year, and that Beauxbatons was the French magical school. Is that why Gabrielle is here and Ginny is so upset?

Before Vivi can ask, Hermione Granger runs towards them. "Gabby are you all right?"

"No" exclaims Gabby as a flesh stream of blood gushes from her nose, which she covers with her sleeve. "I hate Ginny. She is very mean."

Hermione bends down, gently moving Gabby's arm away from her nose. Pulling out her wand, Hermione whispers "Episkey." Right before Vivi's eyes, Gabby's nose goes back into place, and her right eye shrinks to normal size. If it weren't for the blood on her face, no one would have known that anything happened to Gabby at all.

"Chuffin'ell" swears Vivi.

"Gabby, Ginny doesn't hate you" says Hermione as she puts her hands on Gabby's shoulders, "although she could have been nicer about it, you have to practice a little more to get on the Quidditch team. You're a bit cack-handed; strengthen your hands and arms and I think you'll be a great chaser. "

"Besides," says Vivi, "Next year Ginny won't be here. She won't be able to stop you from getting on the team."

Gabby smirks at the thought. Hermione, however, gives Vivi a strange look, almost as though Vivi was a phantom from her past. Vivi's nose started to flare.

"What?" she exclaims, "I'm telling the truth. Or are Slytherins not allow to cheer up Gryffindors?"

"Not at all…Vivi, right?" responds Hermione, "I don't have the same biases against Slytherins as many of the other students."

"There are a lot of good Slytherins" says Gabby, "Professor Slughorn, Tonks's mother, Professor Snape, and the first Professor Snape, right?"

"That's right, Gabby. There are some bad Gryffindors as well" responds Hermione.

With the last sentence, she gives Vivi a queer look, as though it's her fault that bad Gryffindors exist. Vivi puffs out her cheeks.

"Well I very well can't answer for all Gryffindors, can I? Hard enough answering for Slytherins" she retorts.

Hermione shakes herself out of a daze. "Oh, I'm sorry" she says before standing up. "I'll talk to Ginny, Gabby. Meanwhile, you need to rest after today's activity. Vivi, can you make sure she makes it to the Gryffindor common room?"

Gabby nods vigorously. Vivi bites back a retort, giving that Hermione requested her help. "Sure" Vivi says.

Hermione smiles as she leaves the castle. Vivi and Gabby head the other way towards Gryffindor Tower. After a moment of silence, Vivi clears her throat. "So, why did you come to Hogwarts instead of, Beauxbatons isn't it?"

Gabby nods her head. "I came to Hogwarts because of Harry Potter. He saved me from the mermaids in the lake, and I have admired him ever since. I was so happy when I got into Gryffindor because he was in Gryffindor too. I wanted to be on the Quidditch team too, but Ginny would not let me." Gabby suddenly looks away. "You probably think I am stupid because I went to school in a strange country because of a person I do not know that well. Everyone thinks it."

Vivi shrugs. "I don't give a stuff, and neither should anyone else. If it's important to you, than that's all that matter. They're probably jealous because you know Harry Potter personally, and they don't."

Gabby smiles. Vivi was actually relieved to talk to someone who actually knew who Harry Potter was; some of the stories she heard sounded made up. According to other first-year Slytherins, Harry Potter has fought fire-breathing dragons, snakes that can turn people into stone, zombies that come out of the water…what rubbish. What's next? Werewolves? Cerberus? Death itself?

"How were you able to get into the school anyway?" asks Vivi.

"I used my sister and brother-in-law's address in Cornwall, England as my home address. Then I begged Headmistress McGonagall to let me in the school. After she told me how this is highly unusual and that she was not sure if it was the right decision, she allowed me to attend. I was so happy!"

Gabby's exuberance makes Vivi smile, understanding how she felt; Vivi wouldn't trade being at Hogwarts for the world.

The two girls make it to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady was not in her portrait, probably gossiping with a friend in another portrait. Gabby says something in French under her breath, which Vivi was pretty sure couldn't be said in proper company.

"She always does this" whines Gabby, "Now, I will have to look for her or wait until she comes back."

Right on cue, however, the portrait swings open, C.C. coming out of it carrying a stack of comics in his arms. He stops and looks at them. "Hey Gabby, Vivi. What are you doing here?"

"C.C., thank goodness!" says Gabby as she walks through the portrait.

"I was just seeing Gabby back to her dorm" responds Vivi.

"Oh" says C.C., "That was very canny of you, Vivi."

"Yes" agrees Gabby, "Thank you very much for walking me to my dorm."

"No probs." A thought suddenly occurs to her. Gabby and C.C. are the first Gryffindors she's talk to who haven't either recoiled in her presence or sneered at her. Maybe they can be friends.

"Y'know" starts Vivi, "after Quidditch tryouts, me and my mates are studying in the library. Wanna come?"

"Will your friends mind?" asks Gabby, "They are Slytherins. Will they want us there?"

"Not all of them are Slytherins. Joe's a Hufflepuff. Quinn's a Ravenclaw. You'll be fine."

"That sounds fun" says Gabby. "I will go with you."

C.C. shuffles his feet as he looks at the comics. "I'll have to pass. Jake is still in the infirmary, and he'll probably need company. I'm bringing him his comics; I can't get into him, but the pictures are nice."

Again with Jake. Vivi couldn't understand how C.C. and Jake were friends, but she concedes that staying with an injured mate is noble. "Maybe next time" she responds before turning to Gabby, "I'll meet up with you after tryouts end."

Gabby nods her head, heading inside of the Gryffindor common room. C.C. says goodbye to Vivi before he heads off to the infirmary. Vivi herself dashes off to the Quidditch field, hoping not to miss the beginning of the Hufflepuff tryouts.

(Hogwarts after the War)

"Oh God, Tori, you should've seen Mal. She was like a bird!"

"Please stop, Vivi. Bad enough I'm going to have to hear it from Mal; don't make me listen to it twice."

Vivi shakes her head, watching Tori cover her ears. She had made it in time for the Hufflepuff tryouts, and Joe was amazing. During his tryout as keeper, he blocked all of the shots, even though the Quaffle was just a blur in Vivi's eyes. Mal's tryout as seeker was just as awesome; she zipped through the air so fast that Vivi couldn't tell the difference between her and the Snitch. Both of them went to freshen up while Vivi rendezvouses with the others at the library.

Vivi and Tori walk down the hall where the Memorial Portrait was. Quinn was standing at it, touching its frame. The picture showed a Middle Eastern woman wearing a long-sleeved black dress and white shawl.

"Is that your mother?" asks Vivi.

Quinn's "yes" was barely audible as he kept his back to them. Then, he lifts his head, making his voice clearer. "She came to England from Pakistan not knowing anyone but my father. My mother was…lost when my father died. When the Dark Lord came back, he promised, in honor of my father's service to him, that he would take care of us. He promised."

"Lord Voldemort made a lot of promises that he ultimately didn't keep" says Tori, which receives a nod from Quinn. Vivi didn't know what to do; the war has affected her friends in a way that she will never understand.

"I'm sorry about your parents, Quinn" Vivi whispers.

Taking a deep breath, Quinn turns to her and smiles. "You're not the one who should be apologizing, Vivi."

As Vivi returns the smile, she hears Mal yelling down the hall. Her arm was linked around Gabby's, whose arm was linked around Joe's. It took Vivi a second to remember that Mal is Gabby's cousin-in-law, and Gabby knows Joe from their Herbology class.

"You looking at the new seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team!" shouts Mal.

"And I'm keeper for the Hufflepuff team" says Joe.

"Congratulations, you two" says Quinn.

"I knew you two would do it" says Vivi, "You were awesome on the field."

"Yeah, yeah congratulations" says Tori as she looks Gabby up and down, "but more importantly, what's with the Gryffindor? And isn't this the Harry Potter fan?"

Vivi sends a sharp jab into Tori's arm. "I invited her to study with us, especially since no one would have a problem with it."

Tori shrugs as she rubs her arm. "My group of friends include two muggle-borns, a Ravenclaw, and a Hufflepuff. Why not add a Gryffindor who's friends with The Boy Who Lived as well?" She holds out her name and introduces herself to Gabby.

"Speaking of the Ravenclaw" says Vivi, "Gabby, this is Quinn."

Quinn shakes Gabby's hand. "Didn't Harry Potter save you several years ago?"

"Yes" responds Gabby, then, reacting to his queer look, "Is that all right?"

"Yeah" Quinn answers, "thanks for studying with us. Unfortunately, we will have to do the studying for the entire group."

A second passes before everyone starts laughing, realizing that Quinn, of all people was making a joke. Mal puts her arms around both Quinn and Gabby.

"Well, what are we waiting for? You two have a lot of our work to do."

With that, the six students head off to the library.

(Hogwarts after the War)

Well, I'm finally finished with this chapter. Thank you again for everyone who has read the story. Stay tuned for new chapters!


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